Studies on the nutritional basis of abnormal behavior in albino rats: I. The effect of vitamin B1 and vitamin B-complex deficiency on convulsive seizures.

Abstract

Albino rats were subjected to a specific deficiency of vitamin B1 and tested regularly for susceptibility to convulsive seizures when exposed to a standard auditory stimulus. The incidence of seizures rose steadily as the deficiency progressed. Paired feeding control animals were tested similarly to rule out the factor of decreased food intake. Both inanition and vitamin B1 deficiency were found to be important contributing factors to increased susceptibility. Depending upon the degree of inanition and vitamin deficiency involved, either factor may be predominant. A deficiency that is too severe may in turn render the animals less sensitive to seizures than intermediate stages of deficiency.